Getting trademark protection in the United States is one thing. But if you want to take your brand international, you’re going to need more than just a US trademark. And if you don’t? You’re vulnerable to appropriation in other countries. Worse, you’ll have insufficient legal grounds to fight back. You’re proud of your idea–take the… READ MORE
A court will apply the “likelihood of confusion” test in a trademark infringement suit. This is actually an umbrella term for several tests employed by the various federal circuits. However, most courts use a group of similar factors to assess confusion. The court will analyze and weigh each factor to determine if a consumer, in… READ MORE
UDRP Element 3: Bad Faith In case you missed it, we provided a general overview of the UDRP process here, and a more in-depth look at the first and second element of the UDRP. This post, however, delves deeper into the third element of the UDRP test, whether the domain was registered in bad faith…. READ MORE
As mentioned in Trade Dress Protection, when asserting trade dress infringement or unfair competition, the first prong of the three-prong test requires that the plaintiff show “the inherent distinctiveness or secondary meaning of its trade dress.” In Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc., the Supreme Court put to rest the issue of whether a… READ MORE
We often receive questions about how to protect fashion designed. This article explain trade dress in fashion design and the roles it plays to protect certain items. In the absence of copyright protection for fashion designs in the United States due to the useful nature of designs, designers have turned to protection under trade… READ MORE
As mentioned in Trade Dress Protection, when asserting trade dress infringement or unfair competition, the second prong of the three-part test requires a showing of the nonfunctionality of its trade dress. Therefore, a trade dress cannot be afforded protection if it is functional. This post explains trade dress functionality and its interpretation throughout the federal… READ MORE
